Siebold's Nut

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Siebold's nut (lat. Juglans sieboldiana) - a representative of the Walnut genus of the Walnut family. Natural area - Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the mountain forests of Japan (the islands of Hokkaido, Hondo, Kyushu, Honshu, etc.). It grows mainly in deciduous and mixed forests, as well as in plantations of cryptomeria, scarlet, palm maple, Manchurian ash, tuevik and other plants. A relatively long-lived species, the average age is 200-300 years.

Characteristics of culture

Siebold's nut is a deciduous tree up to 20 m high with a trunk covered with greenish-gray bark. The branches are bare, gray, often with a yellow tinge. Young shoots are light gray, glandular hairy. The buds are flattened, elongated or rounded, up to 0.3 cm in diameter.

The leaves are rather large, they sit on a glandular-pubescent petiole in the amount of 9-21 pieces. Leaflets are elliptical or oblong-ovate, up to 18 cm long, rounded at the base, pointed at the ends, jagged along the edge. On the outside, the leaves are green, pubescent with sparse hairs, on the inside, light green, densely pubescent with reddish or yellow hairs. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, collected in earrings, the length of which varies from 15 to 30 cm.

The fruit is round or ovoid, with a hairy sticky surface, does not crack spontaneously when ripe. The nut is ovoid, slightly wrinkled or smooth, with a pointed apex and a rounded base. The shell of the nut is thick, inside there is a small core that occupies 25-30% of the endocarp (nut). The fruits ripen in September - October. The fruits are used for food. Wood is prized in the furniture industry.

Subtleties of reproduction

The Siebold nut is propagated by seeds, cuttings and grafting. Sowing is carried out in the fall, immediately after collection. Seed germination is 30-70%. At the same time, it is necessary to plant at least 3-5 seeds. Sowing substrate must be absolutely clean, loose, fertilized and moderately moist. On soils contaminated with rhizome weeds, the seed will not germinate. The seed is placed in the hole in a horizontal position. Deep embedding is undesirable. It is important to protect crops from the invasion of mice and other rodents; for this, the ridges are covered with a metal mesh.

Seedlings appear the next year, usually in June - July. Initially, a white root comes out of the seed, and then a green stalk and two leaves. Siebold nut seedlings are transplanted no earlier than 3-4 years later. Experienced gardeners advise sowing seeds immediately to a permanent place, since plants are difficult to tolerate transplanting, because already at a young age they form a long root that goes deep into the soil. If the transplant cannot be avoided, then during sowing, slate or other dense material is laid in the hole (at a depth of 40-60 cm). It will prevent the active growth of the root in depth.

Care

Siebold's nut cannot be called a whimsical plant. The main procedures for the care of the crop include regular watering, sanitary pruning, the introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers, the prevention of diseases and pests, loosening the soil in the near-trunk zone, removing weeds and mulching. Young plants need shelter for the winter. The Siebold nut is watered at least 2 times a month at the rate of 25-30 liters per adult tree. During drought, the amount and frequency of watering is increased. The plants are fed in two stages: in the spring - with nitrogen fertilizers and organic matter, in the fall - with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.